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07/23/2012 at 08:45 am.

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ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

This notice announces the application of TUV Rheinland of North America, Inc., for expansion of its recognition as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory, and presents the Agency's preliminary finding to grant this request. This preliminary finding does not constitute an interim or temporary approval of this application.

DATES:

Submit information or comments, or any request for extension of the time to comment, by the following dates:

Hard copy: Postmarked or sent by August 8, 2012.

Electronic transmission or facsimile: Send by August 8, 2012.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments by any of the following methods:

Electronically: Submit comments and attachments electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Follow the instructions online for making electronic submissions.

Facsimile: If submissions, including attachments, are not longer than 10 pages, commenters may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-1648.

Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and the OSHA docket number (i.e., OSHA-2007-0042). OSHA will place all submissions, including any personal information provided, in the public docket without revision, and these submissions will be available online at http://www.regulations.gov.

Docket: To read or download submissions or other material in the docket (e.g., exhibits listed below), go to http://www.regulations.gov or the OSHA Docket Office at the address above. All documents in the docket are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index; however, some information (e.g., copyrighted material) is not publicly available to read or download through the Web site. All submissions, including copyrighted material, are available for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office. Contact the OSHA Docket Office for assistance in locating docket submissions.

Extension of Comment Period: Submit requests for an extension of the comment period on or before August 8, 2012 to the Office of Technical Programs and Coordination Activities, NRTL Program, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Room N-3655, Washington, DC 20210, or by fax to (202) 693-1644.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Notice of Expansion Application

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is providing notice that TUV Rheinland of North America, Inc. (TUV), applied for expansion of its current recognition as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL). TUV's expansion request covers the addition of a new site and the use of one additional test standard. OSHA's current scope of recognition for TUV is available at http://www.osha.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/tuv.html.

OSHA recognition of an NRTL signifies that the organization meets the legal requirements specified by 29 CFR 1910.7. Recognition is an acknowledgment that the organization can perform independent safety testing and certification of the specific products covered within its scope of recognition, and is not a delegation or grant of government authority. As a result of recognition, employers may use products approved by the NRTL to meet OSHA standards that require product testing and certification.

The Agency processes applications by an NRTL for initial recognition, or for an expansion or renewal of this recognition, following requirements in Appendix A to 29 CFR 1910.7. This appendix requires that the Agency publish two notices in the Federal Register when processing an application. In the first notice, OSHA announces the application and provides its preliminary finding and, in the second notice, the Agency provides its final decision on the application. These notices set forth the NRTL's scope of recognition or modifications of that scope. OSHA maintains an informational Web page at http://www.osha.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/index.html that details each NRTL's scope of recognition. Each NRTL's scope of recognition has three elements: (1) The type of products the NRTL may test, with each type specified by its applicable test standard; (2) the recognized site(s) that has/have the technical capability to perform the product testing and certification activities for test standards within the NRTL's scope; and (3) the supplemental program(s) that the NRTL may use, each of which allows the NRTL to rely on other parties to perform activities necessary for product testing and certification.

General Background on the Application

TUV submitted an application, dated February 24, 2006 (Ex. 1: TUV Application), to expand its recognition to include one additional facility (site) located at 2324 Ridgepoint Drive, Suite E, Austin, Texas 78754, and one additional test standard. In response to OSHA's requests for clarification, TUV amended its application to provide additional technical details, and then provided further details in a later update (Ex. 2: TUV Amended Application dated 8/22/2007 and 2/10/2009). The NRTL Program staff determined that this standard is an “appropriate test standard” within the meaning of 29 CFR 1910.7(c). In connection with this request, NRTL Program assessment staff performed an on-site review of TUV's testing facility in August 2010, and recommended expansion of TUV's recognition to include the one additional facility listed above and the additional test standard listed below (Ex. 2). As a result, the Agency preliminarily determined that it should expand TUV's scope of recognition to include the one additional facility and test standard.

OSHA limits recognition of any NRTL for a particular test standard to equipment or materials (i.e., products) for which OSHA standards require third-party testing and certification before use in the workplace. Consequently, if a test standard also covers any product for which OSHA does not require such testing and certification, an NRTL's scope of recognition does not include that product.

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) may approve the test standard listed above as an American National Standard. However, for convenience, OSHA may use the designation of the standards-developing organization for the standard instead of the ANSI designation. Under the NRTL Program's policy (see OSHA Instruction CPL 1-0.3, Appendix C, paragraph XIV),[2]
any NRTL recognized for a particular test standard may use either the proprietary version of the test standard or the ANSI version of that standard. Contact ANSI to determine whether a test standard is currently ANSI-approved.

Preliminary Finding on the Application

TUV submitted an acceptable application for recognition as an NRTL. OSHA's review of the application file, and the results of the on-site review, indicate that TUV can meet the requirements prescribed by 29 CFR 1910.7 for recognition to use the test standard and facility listed above. This preliminary finding does not constitute an interim or temporary approval of the application. TUV corrected the discrepancies noted by OSHA during the on-site review, and the on-site review report describes these corrections (Ex. 3: TUV On-site Report).

OSHA welcomes public comment as to whether TUV meets the requirements of 29 CFR 1910.7 for expansion of their recognition as an NRTL. Comments should consist of pertinent written documents and exhibits. Commenters needing more time to comment must submit a request in writing, stating the reasons for the request. OSHA must receive the written request for an extension by the due date for comments. OSHA will limit any extension to 30 days unless the requester justifies a longer period. OSHA may deny a request for an extension if it is not adequately justified. To obtain or review copies of the publicly available information in TUV's application and other pertinent documents (including exhibits), as well as all submitted comments, contact the Docket Office, Room N-2625, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, at the above address; these materials also are available online at http://www.regulations.gov under Docket No. OSHA-2007-0042.

The NRTL Program staff will review all comments to the docket submitted in a timely manner, and, after addressing the issues raised by these comments, will recommend whether to grant TUV's application for expansion. The Assistant Secretary will make the final decision on granting the application and, in making this decision, may undertake other proceedings prescribed in Appendix A to 29 CFR 1910.7. OSHA will publish a public notice of this final decision in the Federal Register.